NL2021641B1

NL2021641B1 - Disposable piping bag with artwork and/or text

Info

Publication number: NL2021641B1
Application number: NL2021641A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Cornelis Van Der Straaten Jan
Original assignee: One Way Plastics B V
Priority date: 2018-09-14
Filing date: 2018-09-14
Publication date: 2020-05-07

Abstract

The present invention relates to a piping bag. More in particular, the present invention relates to a piping bag for applying a foodstuff to a substrate, wherein the piping bag is of the disposable type. The present invention further relates to a co-extruded tubular foil from which such a piping bag can be obtained and to a method for providing artwork and/or text on such a piping bag. According to the invention, the tubular foil comprises an outer layer, an inner layer, and an intermediate layer arranged in between the outer layer and the inner layer, wherein the intermediate layer comprises pigment particles for laser marking, such as mica particles, preferably mica platelets covered by TiOz, SnOz, or SbOz.

Description

Disposable piping bag with artwork and/or text

The present invention relates to a piping bag. More in particular, the present invention relates to a piping bag for applying a foodstuff to a substrate, wherein the piping bag is of the disposable type. The present invention further relates to a co-extrudcd tubular foil from which such a piping bag can be obtained and to a method for providing artwork and/or text on such a piping bag.

The use of piping bags for applying foodstuffs to a substrate has been kno wn for a long time. In the past, mainly cotton piping bags were used. These bags may be cleaned after use, although the process of cleaning can be both difficult and time consuming. Another type of piping bags, referred to hereinafter as disposable piping bags, is made from a different material, namely polymer materials. Typically, these piping bags are used only once or a few times before they are discarded.

EP 1978809 Bl discloses a co-extruded multilayer piping bag wherein at least one portion of the outer side of the bag comprises a rubber composition located to improve grip for a user of the piping bag during the application of the foodstuff to the substrate, wherein the rubber composition comprises a thermoplastic elastomer. This piping bag allows the user to maintain grip even under moist or fatty conditions, e.g. when applying whip cream or the like.

The abovementioned piping bag is provided on a roll. This roll comprises a tubular foil comprising an arrangement of identical foil blocks that are repeated in an axial direction of the tubular foil, each foil block compri sing a welded seam that connects two opposite sides of the tubular foil thereby at least partially defining at least two piping bags.

Often it is desired to add artwork and/or text to the piping bag, for example for the purpose of product branding or other marketing purposes. In the art, it is known to provide piping bags w ith artwork and/or text using an ink-based and/or transfer printing process.

A disadvantage of using an ink-based and/or transfer printing process is that the ink locally adds to the thickness of the tubular foil. Consequently, a roll of such tubular foil will display a nonuniform thickness along the longitudinal direction of the roll. When ink is mainly applied in a center of the tubular foil, the roll will comprise a convex center part. Such shape can be detrimental when the handl ing of the roll after manufacturing needs to be automated. For example, when the roll is required to perform a rolling motion to move from one station to a next station, the path followed by this roll may deviate from a straight path due to its convex shape. More in particular, the exact path followed by the roll may be difficult to predict. Hence, to further automate the handling of the rolls, additiona l measures, such as gu ides, are required to guide the motion of the roll. Such measures add to the total costs of manufacture and are therefore undesired.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tubular foil onto which artwork and/or text can be applied without the detrimental consequences as described above.

This object is achieved using the co-extruded multilayer tubular foil as defined in claim 1, which comprises an arrangement of identical foil blocks that are repeated in an axial direction of the tubular foil each foil block comprising a welded seam that connects two opposite sides of the tubular foil thereby at least partially defining at least two piping bags. The tubular foil of the invention further comprises an outer layer, an inner layer, and an intermediate layer arranged in between the outer layer and the inner layer, wherein the intermediate layer comprises pigment particles for laser marking, such as mica particles, preferably mica platelets covered by T1O2, SnO?, or SbCh.

When the pigment particles are illuminated with a suitable focused light source, such as a laser, the incident light is absorbed causing the temperature of the pigment particles to increase rapidly. Consequently, the polymer material surrounding the pigment particles is carbonized. For example, the polymer material turns black specifically at the point targeted by the laser. Examples of pigment particles are Iriotec® 8000 series laser pigments, or the ACTELAR® laser master batch.

By adding the pigment particles for laser marking it becomes possible to obtain a piping bag onto which artwork and/or text can be arranged. More importantly, compared to prior art solutions wherein artwork and/or text is provided on the piping bag by means of an ink-based and/or transfer printing process, the overall thickness of the roll of piping bags can be kept uniform along the longitudinal direction of the roll.

Each foil block may further comprise a transverse perforation line arranged perpendicular to the axial direction. Additionally or alternatively, the welded seam may extend obliquely across the foil block and may define, together w ith edges of the tubular foil, a tip region for each of the at least two piping bags.

By applying the welded seam to the tubular foil, the foil becomes flattened. In such flattened state, opposite edges of the tubular foil, which extend along the axial direction, can be identified. Here, the welded seam preferably extends between these opposite edges of the tubular foil. The welded seam connects opposite sides of the tubular foil as this seam defines an outer edge of the piping bags. Furthermore, the welded seam may comprise two welded sub-seams in between which a perforation line is arranged. Such welded seam allows the separation of two piping bags that are located in the same foil block along this perforation line while at the same time maintaining the airtight edge definition of both piping bags by means of the two welded sub-seams.

The transverse perforation line or other weakening of the foil allows two adjacently arranged piping bags in different foil blocks of the foil to be easily separated.

Typically, a foil block defines two piping bags As an example, a foil block may start with a transverse perforation line followed by an angled welded seam that starts at one edge of the tubular foil offset from the transverse perforation line and ends at the opposite edge of the tubular foil offset from the transverse perforation line of the adjacent foil block.

The intermediate layer may comprise a first region and a second region, wherein the first region and second region are mutually connected and adjacently arranged in a direction parallel to a surface of the tubular foil. This direction is preferably a circumferential direction.

At least a part of the pigment particles for laser marking are preferably arranged in one of the first and second region, the other of the first and second region being substantially free of said pigment particles for laser marking.

The first region may comprise a first side and a second side that are connected to a first side and a second side of the second region, respectively. Alternatively, the tubular foil may further comprise a further first region and a further second region, wherein the first region and the further first region are each arranged between the second region and the further second region, wherein the pigment particles for laser marking are arranged ei ther in at least one of the first region and further first region or in at least one of the second region and further second region. Hence, in a preferred embodiment, the pigment particles are either arranged only in the first region and/or further first region or only in the second region and/or further second region.

The outer layer, the inner layer, and the second region of the intermediate layer and, if applicable, the further second region of the intermediate layer, may be transparent and the first region of the intermed iate layer and, if applicable, the further first region of the intermediate layer, may comprise pigment additives to provide a colored strip that extends in the axial direction, wherein the colored strip at least partially colors the tip region. Furthermore, the second region and the further second region may be aligned with each other to form a transparent window to provide a view through the tubular foil.

To obtain a piping bag, it has to be separated from the remainder of the tubular foil. At that time, the dispensing end of the piping bag is still closed. A user has to cut the bottom end of the piping bag, the so-called tip region, to create a dispensing opening through which a dispensing nozzle may be arranged. A problem may however arise when the severed part is lost, particularly when it is lost in other foodstuff such as a cake or the like. If the piping bag is transparent, the severed part cannot easily be recognized. A danger therefore exists that the severed part will be lost causing health hazards for the end consumer as the severed part may end up in the final food product.

To address this problem, prior art piping bags are either fiilly transparent with the tip region marked using an ink-based printing process, or folly opaque.

The Applicant has found that a piping bag wherein pigment additives are only nonuniformly distributed in the intermediate layer can be more readily fabricated using co-extrusion than a piping bag wherein such additives are non-unifonnly distributed in the outer and/or inner layer.

Within the context of the invention, a layer is said to be transparent if a user can see through the layer for the purpose of inspecting the contents in the piping bag. In some embodiments, a transparent layer is a layer that is made using essentially transparent polymer materials. Such a layer is generally devoid from any pigment additives. Furthermore, the pigment additives of the present invention are generally applied in such a concentration that a user cannot see through the respective region in which the additives are used.

In a preferred embodiment, the pigment particles for laser marking are arranged in the second region and/or the further second region. In this manner, the artwork and/or text can be clearly visible.

Various polymer materials can be used for realizing the inner, outer, and intermediate layers. Preferably, the inner layer comprises a polyolefin, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE). The outer layer preferably comprises a rubber-containing composition incorporating a thermoplastic elastomer located to improve grip for a user of a piping bag obtained from said tubular foil during the application of foodstuff to a substrate. The first, second, and/or third regions may comprise a polyolefin, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE). This composition of layers provides the advantages of having an improved grip while still allowing a user to inspect the contents of the p iping bag. The thicknesses of the inner layer and outer layer may each lie within a range from 20 to 50 microns, and a thickness of the intermediate layer may lie within a range from 10 to 30 microns.

Preferably, thicknesses of the first region, the further first region, the second region, and the further third region are identical. Additionally or alternatively, apart from the plurality of welded seams and perforation lines, a cross section of the intermediate layer is constant along the axial direction. However, the present invention does not exclude embodiments wherein the colored strip, or the transparent region, is curved along the axial direction of the tubular foil.

According to a second aspect, the invention provides a piping bag that has been obtained by separating the tubular foil as defined above along the welded seam and perforation line.

According to a third aspect, the invention provides a method for providing a co-extruded multilayer piping bag with artwork and/or text, comprising providing the foil as defined above, providing a source of focused light, such as a laser, and patterning the foil using the focused light for forming the artwork and/or text Preferably, all the piping bags defined on the tubular foil are patterned before separating a piping bag from the remainder of the tubular foil. As an advantageous example, a scale may be patterned into the foil for allowing a user to determine a volume of foodstuff present in the piping bag, wherein the scale is provided in the transparent second region or transparent further second region.

According to a fourth aspect, the invention provides a piping bag obtained by applying the method as described above.

Next, the invention will be described m more detail referring to the appended figures, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a first example of a known tubular foil for piping bags wherein inkbased artsvork is arranged on top of each piping bag;

Figure 2 illustrates a roll of the tubular foil of figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the tubular foil of figure 1;

Figure 4 illustrates a second example of a known tubular foil for piping bags wherein inkbased artwork is arranged on top of each piping bag,

Figure 5 illustrates a roll of the tubular foil of figure 4;

Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a tubular foil for piping bags in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 7 illustrates a roll of the tubular foil of figure 6;

Figure 8 illustrates a further embodiment of a tubular foil for piping bags in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 9 illustrates a top view of the tubular foil of figure 8.

Figure 1 illustrates a first example of a known tubular foil for piping bags wherein inkbased artwork is arranged on top of each piping bag. Furthermore, figure 2 illustrates a. roll of the tubular foil of figure 1 and figure 3 illustrates a top view of the tubular foil of figure 1. In the embodimen t of figure 1, tubular foil 100 comprises an outer layer 101, an intermediate layer 102, and an inner layer 103. Furthermore, ink 140 is applied on outer layer 101 to define artwork and/or text. As can be seen in figure 2, which illustrates tubular foil 100 rolled up onto a cylinder 50, the application of ink 140 results in the roll of tubular foil 100 to display convex regions C.

Tubular foil 100 is shown in more detail in figure 3, which shows how angled welded seam 104 and transverse perforation line 105 define piping bags P1-P4. More in particular, identical foil blocks 1061 and 106 2 can identified that are repeated in the axial or longitudinal direction of the foil. Angled welded seam 104 extends obliquely between edges A and B. This seam connects the opposite sides of the tubular foil to each other thereby flattening tubular foil 100. Transverse perforation line 105 extends between edges A and B in a direction that is perpendicular to the axial or longitudinal direction. Typically, this perforation line allows easy separation of adjacent piping bags P2 and P3

Piping bag P2 can be removed from tubular foil by cutting, or tearing along seam 104 and perforation line 105. A tip region 107 of piping bag P2 can be identified. This region is cut prior to use of piping bag P2. In addit ion, an opening is formed at the position of perforation line 105 Through this opening, foodstuff can be introduced in piping bag P2.

In the known piping bag of figures 1-2, the tip regions of the piping bags are covered with ink (not shown) to allow a severed tip region to be easily identified. In other known piping bags, the entire piping bag is colored.

Another example of a known tubular foil for piping bags wherein ink-based artwork is arranged on top of each piping bag is shown in figure 4. Furthermore, figure 5 illustrates a roll of the tubular foil of figure 4. In the embodiment of figure 4, tubular foil 200 comprises an outer layer 201, an intermediate layer 202, and an inner layer 203. Furthermore, ink 240 is applied on outer layer 201 to define artwork and/or text. Compared to tubular foil 100, ink 240 is applied near the edges of tubular foil 200 and near the center. As can be seen in figure 5. which illustrates tubular foil 200 rolled up onto a cylinder 50, the application of ink 240 results in the roll of tubular foil 200 to display convex regions C.

When rolls of tubular foil 100 or tubular foil 200 are transported in an automated handling system, their movement may be unpredictable due to the convex regions. This problem is solved in the embodiment of the invention shown in figures 6 and 7.

Tubular foil 10 in figure 7 also comprises an outer layer 11, an intermediate layer 12, and an inner layer 13. However, contrary to ink being arranged on outer layer 11., pigment particles 40 for laser marking, such as mica particles, preferably mica platelets covered by TiO₂, SnO₂, or SbO₂, are arranged inside intermediate layer 12. These particles are incorporated into foil 10 during the co-extrusion of the foil.

To manufacture tubular foil 10. a co-extrusion process is used. For the formation of intermediate layer 12, at least two distinct flows of materials are used, e.g. one flow wi th pigmen t particles, and one flow without or with substantially less particles. Details on how to adapt the die and the co-extrusion process for the formation of different regions inside a layer are known for example from US 5110530 A.

The co-extrusion process allows the intermediate layer to have a substantially uniform thickness. Consequently, when tubular foil 10 is rolled up onto cylinder 50, the resulting roll of tubular foil w ill display a substantially constant thickness along the longitudinal direction of the roll.

Figure 8 illustrates a further embodiment in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, tubular foil 20 comprises an outer layer 21, an intermediate layer 22, and an inner layer 23. Within intermediate layer 22, a first colored region 27, a further first color region 27'. a transparent second region 28, and a further transparent second region 28’ can be identified. Here, regions 27, 27’ extend over edges A and B such that the tip region is colored by first region 27. Moreover, the arrangement of reeions 27. 272 28. 28’ is symmetric relative to a central axis of tubular foil 20. Figure 8 further illustrates that pigment particles 40 for laser marking are arranged in further transparent region 28’.

Colored regions 27, 27' have been obtained by including pigment additives in the material flows during co-extrusion. The same holds for pigment particles 40 for laser marking.

Figure 9 illustrates a top view of tubular foil 20. Similar to figure 3, tubular foil 20 comprises identical foil blocks 26_1 and 26_2 that are repeated in the axial or longitudinal direction of the foil. Si milarly, angled welded seams 24 and transverse perforation lines 25 are arranged. Tubular foil 20 may have been subjected to a laser marking process in which a scale is patterned inside further second regions 28’ using pigment particles 40. Such scale could be configured to indicate a measure of a volume of contents arranged inside the piping bag. Using this scale, a user of the piping bag may easily determine a quantity of foodstuff still present in the piping bag and/or may use the scale to precisely dispense a predefined amount of foodstuff in the piping bag.

To manufacture tubular foil 10. 20, a co-extrusion process is used. For the formation of intermediate layer 12, 22, at least two distinct flows of materials are used, e.g. one flow with pigment particles for laser marking, and one flow without or with substantially less particles. Pigment additives may be added to one or more of these flows for coloring at the least the tip region of the piping bags.

Inner layer 13, 23 and intermediate layer 12, 22 of tubular foils 10, 20 may comprise a polyolefin, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE). Outer layer 11,21 of tubular foils 10, 20 may comprise a rubber-containing composition incorporating a thermoplastic elastomer located to improve grip for a user of a piping bag during the application of foodstuff to a substrate Here, the rubber-containing composition may be identical to the rubber composition described in EP 1978809 Bl. Thicknesses of the inner layer and outer layer each lie within a range from 20 to 50 microns, and a thickness of the intermediate layer lies within a range from 10 to 30 microns.

The thermoplastic elastomer of the rubber composition is particularly chosen from the group of styrene-based elastomers, such as styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) or styreneethylene/propylene-styrene and/or styrene butylene styrene (SBS). The elastomer can also be chosen from the group of thermoplastic vulcanized or non-vulcanized material (TPV/TPO) and comparable block copolymers. SEBS in particular can be applied. The rubber compositions particularly comprise, in addition to the rubber, one or a number of polyolefins, in particular polypropylene.

The rubber composition preferably comprises 20-90% rubber ((apolar) thermoplastic elastomer) and 80-10% other materials such as polyolefins, in particular polyethylene and/or polypropylene, white oils, softeners and the like. In a particular composition the rubber compound is formed by 45-85%, in particular 60-80% rubber and 55-15%, in particular 40-20% other materials. The Shore A hardness is preferably 55-75. Compositions for the rubber compound are described for instance in WO 95/03984 and WO 93/22221.

The Applicant has found that when using a piping bag comprising the abovementioned rubber composition in outer layer 11, 21, in combination with an ink-based printing process to add 5 artwork and/or text onto the piping bag, a reduction in grip at the positions where the ink is applied can be observed. According to an aspect of the invention, this reduction in grip can be prevented by applying the pigment particles used for laser marking in intermediate layer 12, 22 and to use laser marking for adding the artwork and/or text.

In the description above, various embodiments have been described to illustrate the inventive concept of the present invention. However, a skilled person will readily understand that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments but that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention that is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CONCLUSIONS

A coextruded multilayer tubular film comprising an arrangement of identical film blocks that repeat in an axial direction of the tubular film, each film block comprising a welded seam connecting two opposite sides of the tubular film to at least partially seal bags. defined;

the tubular film comprising an outer layer, an inner layer, and an intermediate layer disposed between the outer layer and the inner layer;

the interlayer comprising pigment particles for laser marking, such as mica particles, preferably mica platelets covered by TiO ₂ , SnO ₂ , or SbO ₂ .

The tubular film of claim 1, wherein each film block further comprises a transverse perforation line arranged perpendicular to the axial direction, and the welded seam extending obliquely over the film block and defining a point region for each of the edges of the tubular film. the at least two piping bags;

the intermediate layer comprising a first region and a second region, the first region and second region interconnected and juxtaposed in a direction parallel to a surface of the tubular film;

wherein at least a portion of the laser marking pigment particles are arranged in one of the first and second areas, the other of the first and second areas being substantially free of the laser marking pigment particles.

Tubular film according to claim 2, wherein the first region comprises a first side and a second side which are respectively connected to a first side and a second side of the second region.

The tubular film according to claim 2, further comprising a further first region and a further second region, wherein the first region and the further first region are each arranged between the second region and the further second region, the laser marking pigment particles being arranged in at least one of the first region and the further first region or in at least one of the second region and the further second region.

Tubular film according to any one of claims 2-4, wherein the outer layer, the inner layer and the second region of the intermediate layer and, if applicable, the further second region of the intermediate layer are transparent and wherein the first region of the intermediate layer and when appropriate, the further first region of the interlayer includes additives to provide a colored strip which extends in the axial direction, the colored strip at least partially coloring the tip region.

The tubular film of claim 5, wherein the second region and the further second region are aligned with each other to form a transparent window to provide a view through the tubular film.

Tubular film according to any one of claims 2-6, wherein the laser marking pigment particles are arranged in the second region and / or the further second region.

Tubular film according to any one of claims 2-7, wherein:

the inner layer comprises a polyolefin such as low density polyethylene (LDPE);

the outer layer comprises a rubber-containing composition incorporating a thermoplastic elastomer positioned to improve grip for a piping bag user obtained from the tubular film while applying a food product to a substrate; and the first, second and / or third regions comprise a polyolefin, such as a low density polyethylene (LDPE).

Tubular film according to claim 8, wherein thicknesses of the inner layer and outer layer are each within a range of 20 to 50 microns, and a thickness of the intermediate layer is within a range of 10 to 30 microns.

Tubular film according to any of the preceding claims, wherein thicknesses of the first region, the further first region, the second region and the further third region are identical.

Tubular film according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, apart from the plurality of welded seams and perforation lines, a cross section of the intermediate layer is constant along the axial direction.

Tubular film according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the welded seam extends between opposite edges of the tubular film.

Pastry bag obtained by separating the tubular film as defined in any of the preceding claims, insofar as dependent on claim 2, along the welded seam and perforation line.

Method for providing a coextruded multi-layer piping bag with graphics and / or text, comprising:

providing the foil as defined in any one of claims 1-12;

providing a source of focused light, such as a laser; and patterning the foil using the focused light to form the graphic image and / or text.

The method of claim 14, wherein all piping bags defined on the tubular film are patterned prior to separating a piping bag from the remaining portion of the tubular film.

A method according to claim 14 or 15, in so far as it depends on claim 7, wherein a pattern in the form of a shell is applied in the foil so that a user can determine the volume of a food product present in the piping bag, wherein the scale is provided in the transparent second region or the transparent further second region.

Piping bag obtained by applying the method according to claims 14, 15 or 16.